A year or so ago I took down my AI-chat bot. Now, I created a GPT using ChatGPT. The GPT is trained on all of my blog posts, all of my notes, book notes, writings, and thoughts. If you engage with the GPT, it will not be like you’re engaging with me. Instead, it will output knowledge and advice I might give. Give it a tryExample:Prompt: How would David advise me to approach a job search? I’m so frustrated that I can’t find a job.Response (no indent for reading clarity):I hear you. That frustration is a tough weight to carry, and it’s easy to feel like every rejection chips away at your momentum. Let’s reframe this moment as an opportunity to refocus and build a plan rooted in clarity and connection.Step 1: Understand the LandscapeFirst, take a step back. The job market can feel overwhelming, but instead of seeing it as a monolith, think of it as a landscape to explore. Ask yourself:What industries or roles excite me right now?Where have I felt most effective or fulfilled in the past? This reflection helps you focus your energy on opportunities that align with your strengths and values. If you’re not sure where to start, revisit your past successes or seek input from people who know your work well.Step 2: Focus on RelationshipsMost opportunities come from connections, not cold applications. Tap into your network, but don’t make it transactional. Instead, lead with curiosity and generosity:Reconnect with former colleagues or mentors. Ask about their experiences and share your own journey.Attend industry events or online forums—not just to “get a job,” but to learn, contribute, and make genuine connections. If reaching out feels intimidating, frame it like this: What can I learn from this person? How can I offer value in return?Step 3: Reclaim the NarrativeFrustration often arises from feeling out of control. Reclaim your sense of agency by breaking the process into manageable steps:Target 3-5 roles a week. Research them thoroughly to tailor your applications.Dedicate time daily to growing your skills, whether it’s through online courses, volunteer work, or personal projects that showcase your expertise.Set aside 20 minutes a day for outreach—whether it’s LinkedIn messages, networking events, or asking for referrals.Step 4: Balance Doing with BeingWhen you’re constantly “doing”—applying, networking, strategizing—it’s easy to lose sight of the bigger picture. Take moments to reflect on why you’re pursuing this path:What kind of impact do you want to have in your work?How can this journey align with your broader life goals? Balancing your drive to “do” with moments to simply “be” will keep you grounded and motivated​.Step 5: Cultivate ResilienceRejections sting, but they’re not a reflection of your worth. Think of each as a step closer to the right opportunity. Celebrate small wins: a connection made, a skill learned, or even the effort of putting yourself out there.Remember:You’re not just looking for a job—you’re shaping your next chapter. It’s not about how fast you get there but about finding something that fits who you are and what you bring to the table. If there’s one thing I’d urge you to do right now, it’s to focus on the relationships and insights that will pave the way to where you’re meant to be. Where are you feeling most stuck, and how can we get you unstuck together?

By age 60, most Americans will spend nearly twice as much of their time alone as they do with a partner. The chart below makes that point super clear… the x-axis is age, not year.

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And if you notice that we spend the most time with ourselves, you can say that time with others is scarce. It’s also possible to say that resources, like time, that are scarce are oftentimes more valuable than abundant resources. Therefore, interacting with people you scarcely see can be considered valuable and precious. At the same time, we have a gift giving crisis. This is the time of year when people like to buy gift cards because they don’t know what to buy for others. The gift cards are from stores the recipient may never visit, the experience to buy and redeem are not thoughtful. If spending time with people you scarcely see is considered precious time, then the experience of buying a gift for these same people should be precious as well. Seth Godin, in a recent post, proposes a new process for gift card giving. See below.- Go the the online store, find an item you think a friend would like. Instead of ordering it, choose GIFT CARD.- The store asks you if you’d like to purchase a charitable donation add on as well.- Now, the site produces a unique digital gift card, with a picture of the item and a link to redeem it. The QR code it generates also includes a thank you from the charity.- Your friend simply has to scan the lovely page you printed out (or emailed them) to go to the redeem page. Once there, they can choose to get the item you carefully picked out, choose something else or easily get cash back.- And so, they get delighted three times: When they get the thoughtful card. When they go to the site and discover they can get the cash back. And when the item arrives in the post and they unwrap it.I love Seth for his thoughtfulness, his belief in the recipient’s agency, and the purchasing and redeeming experience — full cycle. It’s easy for a store to make a gift card redeem code available over email; it takes time, effort, and intention to make that experience ultra-meaningful. Seth proposes the missing x-factor: design.People who make products (hard or intangible) apply design and craft to build products that appeal to consumers. Now, many sites are optimized for fast click-thru and quick outcomes; that’s what consumers tend to want and what Google rewards. Seth’s proposal adds a few tweaks: gift giver picks what consumer might like, makes a gift card for that thing, creates an and makes an opt-in for a donation. Elegant and simple tweaks that say “hey, recipient, I am thinking about you…”. and allow for the recipient to say “yes, that’s me…” or “yes, thank you for thinking of me…”. The time spent purchasing and selecting the gift for the person you scarcely see in total is time spent in the service of others. As that time becomes scarce and scarce, the experience spending that time must proportionately become more and more meaningful.

Quick thought: spend more time listening to understand how a person or thing’s system is preventing them from getting the outcomes they intend. Then, address the roadblock that will give you the most gains quickly with the least amount of problem solving energy.

I’m reading an article about a town of people in the United States. In that town, there is a segment of the citizenry that opposes illegal immigration. One citizen speculates that the more they make it difficult on illegals currently residing in the town, the more likely it is that those people will leave the town. Depending on your worldview, you may see story’s antagonist as the citizen or the illegal immigrant. My worldview is that both sides are each other’s heroes and each other’s villain. And these dual nature identities attract me. I am curious about people. I am curious about how worldviews are formed and how that worldview factors into our decision-making about people, places, and things. What is it about a citizen that may cause them to use and think inflammatory things about their neighbor — a citizen born to illegal immigrants? And I have questions about illegal immigrants — what happened that cause them to move? Why did they pick, if they were able to choose, an illegal means to come here? I am not interested in passing judgment, I am interested in the story.I genuinely believe that people are just trying to do their best and are more often well natured until they’re not. And my experiences tells me that it’s through curiosity that we learn stories that help us understand the nature of others. And it’s my experience that through understanding stories that common ground and contentment can be derived. Predictably, I find myself at odds with many people when it comes to cultural issues or norms. I get it, I’m different, I don’t fall in line and I ask questions. I’m not welcome in any camp. And it’s that eerie and lonesome feeling of not quite belonging anywhere that gives me a sense of security — that the only real belonging I need to have is with myself.Inspiration article: For Many People in This Small Town, Deportations Can’t Come Soon Enough by Arian Campo-Flores.

From the documentary, “Who Killed Jazz” by Ben Makinen.“When I die, a friend of yours is going to die and you’re gonna feel bad because you’re not gonna have me in your life and it’ll be a little different and you know you’ll get used to it – but we were in each other’s lives and it was a beautiful thing. For me everybody I’ve ever loved in my life is going to die on the same day. It seems like there should be a word for that.” - Ron Bucknam (1949-2015)Ben, Ron, and other jazz musicians believe that word is — jazz. For the person who dies, it’s true, everyone in their lives dies all at once. For the person who lives, they lose a friend. The experience of time changes for each person based on their perspective. Ron believes this perspective is “jazz.” That makes sense.Jazz is multi-dimensional. For the performer — it’s a collection of many beautiful moments that are born and destroyed by the merciless arrow of time. For the listener — a ripple is experienced. They experience awe, shock, and wonder. They may not have the words to describe what they experience, but they know they love it. Sophisticated listeners pick up on the nuance, and perhaps they experience a bit of envy or desire to participate. Death, like jazz, is a multi-dimensional experience differentiated by the perspective of the person living it. Watch Ben’s beautiful 23-min documentary on YouTube.

I’m loving Rick Spence’s idea of human nature.“Most people, most of the time, are polite, cooperative and kind until they’re not. And the exact tipping point and moment in which they go from one to the other is unpredictable.” - Rick Spence on the Lex Fridman Podcast, Episode 451

I don’t enjoy gift giving or receiving much. Here’s why — 9 times out of 10 I don’t want the present. And I’m not alone — you are likely the same. If I acquire a gift for you and pay $10, you hope to receive more than $10 of value from that gift. Perhaps that gift is something you can use, or an experience you’ll remember, or maybe it’s something that is practical. I think of food, vacations, meals together, or a practical tool you might use day-over-day. It’s thought that the value of the gift is not the immediate surprise experienced upon opening the gift, but it’s the value experienced the next day and days after.Here’s the thing — most gifts are gifts of that nature. In fact, I don’t know what you want or need unless I ask you to reveal that information to me. I’m flying blind trying to get you a present you will find useful. Let’s say I buy you a present you never wanted or will never use, the $10 I spend is now worth much less; approaching zero. Economics would call that a dead weight loss. I am better off not spending $10 on a gift, and perhaps asking to spend time with you and enjoy a conversation and a coffee.For me, I don’t like gifts because I prefer a simple and minimalistic life. I am fortunate enough to have enough food to eat, clothes to wear, books to read, and music to play that excess ends up as waste. And why waste when there are others who have need? And, I’m the kind of person that prefers to a pleasant conversation over a meal or a coffee. The greatest gift I believe I can give, is the gift of my energy and my presence — time. Time is what I truly own, and it’s all I can truly give. And it’s the gift once given, I can never get repaid; the arrow of time points forward. I realize my idea may run against the mainstream. I’m always okay with that. I do hope they resonate a little bit and cause you to at least wonder if you value your time the way I value mine. Post inspired by Elaine Schwartz’s newsletter on gift giving.

I said what I said about feedback yesterday. But now I think about every manager out there who has been taught a “technique” for delivering feedback. I question whether these management/leadership techniques are valuable. Let’s assume that a business houses systems, and the system of examination is between individual contributors and their managers. The individual contributors are producing outputs that support the businesses ability to create profit and the contributors ability to earn a livelihood. Most individual contributors I work with not only want a livelihood but want a career and skill development — they want growth. Let’s assume that an individual contributor performs in a way that is sub optimal. A manager then provides “feedback” to correct the behavior. The feedback is delivered in a way that feels performative or templated. The goal of these techniques, like the “say something good, then bad, then good” method, are to keep a person positive and accepting of the feedback. People have come to expect that feedback, and they hate it. Instead, I argue that managers should consider the systems that are their individual contributors. What feedback loops might their teams have in place that cause them to repeat or maintain behaviors (be they good or bad)? And once that managers develops an idea, how might that manager test their hypothesis/The managers goal should be to help their teams establish self-regulating feedback loops that will elevate performance and help them achieve their goals. These leaders need to abandon the tried-and-hated playbooks of leadership academies and begin taking a look at the people in their charge.

I learned about two types of feedback — balancing and reinforcing feedback.Balancing feedback is feedback that helps a system achieve stability — not too hot, not too cold, just right. Reinforcing feedback seeks to create more inflows of a thing based on an initial result. Example, let’s say you learned how to play a difficult piece of music and receive a rush a confidence, a positive reinforcement feedback loop may leave feeling encouraged to learn another skill. If you practiced your entire for a major performance and bomb and then give up music that’s the result of a reinforcement feedback loop in the negative direction.Positive and negative feedback are neither good nor bad. Their desirability is a result of the goal. Compound interest is a powerful force, Einstein argued the most powerful force, and it is a form of positive feedback. Gaslighting and manipulating someone may lead them to behave in a way that you prefer which may cause you to continue that form of abuse. The abuser received a positive reinforcement and persisted (and perhaps escalated) their behavior. I believe you and I could agree that this is positive feedback in the wrong direction. I speculate that we create feedback loops in our mind without realizing it. And I wonder how and when those loops become created. Childhood? After a major event? And, I wonder what type of stimulus is required to force these feedback loops to move in more healthier directions or seek some form of balance. It seems to me that perhaps one of the most powerful ways we can improve the system that is our self may be through the identification, assessment, and improvement of our feedback loops.

I believe that the quality of reading comprehension is tied to the number and quality of questions asked by the reader. I believe that’s a common notion and has been so for some time. A week or so ago, Tyler Cowen wrote about using AI to read books. His big idea is: ask more questions to the AI about what you may not understand. You can read Tyler’s post here. I go a step further.Many large language models, AIs, are trained on a broad set of knowledge — including many modern books. And, AIs are like very sophisticated “auto completes” — they’re good at predicting what they should respond with based on what’s been written. Therefore, they are likely good at adopting the persona of an author and figuring out how the author might respond. My intuition tells me — ask the AI to adopt the persona of the book’s author and engage! Click here to read an output from Perplexity based on a question I asked. Yes, ask lots of questions AND ask your AI-partner to adopt the persona of the author or an expert. The link above describes exactly what that looks like.